BAD-itude or GLAD-itude ... Our Choice

I confess to being an amused/amazed observer of social trends. It is both amusing and amazing to note that, as a wise man once said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)  Anybody remember mini-skirts, hip-huggers, and bell bottoms from the first time around?  Seen any lately?

There was a time when the walls in our homes were decorated with little plaques with inspirational or humorous sayings.  Maybe some of them still are.  But that decorating trend has evolved into the digital age where the “inspirational” signs now adorn our Facebook walls and Pinterest boards. I put the word “inspirational” in quotation marks because I sometimes wonder what they are intended to inspire.

For example, I saw this on Facebook this morning: “Don’t get confused between my personality and my attitude.  My personality is who I am, my attitude depends on who you are.”  I wonder how many people liked it and shared it so that it now adorns their own wall.

Full disclosure requires me to admit that I have often taken this approach and let the actions of others determine my attitude.  It is easy to let others “make” us mad or frustrated.  It is easy to let the high-maintenance joy suckers in life “make” us want to throw them out a window.  We have also been the beneficiaries of those serendipitous moments when someone else’s encouraging or gracious personality has “made” our day.

So what’s the problem with the “inspirational” saying? Once again, there is nothing new under the sun.  It illustrates a problem that goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.  Adam: “The woman … gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.”  Eve: “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” (Genesis 3:12-13).  The problem is that we don’t want to take responsibility for ourselves. 

Follow this line of logic:  If the actions and attitudes of other people determine our attitudes (he “made” me so mad), and if our attitudes lead us to behave in a certain way (I snapped at the cashier at the store), and if our attitudes and actions affect those around us (the cashier responded rudely to the next person in line), we have all become a part of a vicious circle of “Bad-itudeness” for which none of us is truly responsible.  After all, the person who “made” me mad was previously affected by someone else.

Is that really the way we want to live?  How about this: I cannot choose my circumstances, but I can choose my response.  My attitude does not depend on who you are, it depends on who I choose to be.  If I walk away from you mad, you did not “make” me that way, I chose it.  I can also choose NOT to be that way.

Our lives matter so much to God that He gave us the ability to choose.  When I consider my life, I choose GLAD-itude.  How about you?